Brighter days ahead for metal fabricators

After 2020, the entire metal fabricating industry is ready to turn its attentions to a more prosperous new year. Getty images.

Many job shop owners I have spoken to recently are glad to close the books on 2020. The reasons extend beyond their operation’s financial performance, however. These company owners and their staffs are tired.

This past year has required a great deal of energy to manage the many variables the COVID-19 pandemic dropped on us. In March, as the U.S. was shut down to stop the initial spread of the virus, job shops had to demonstrate that they indeed were an essential part of the manufacturing economy. Simultaneously OEMs and their suppliers raced to build all kinds of products, ranging from ventilators, test equipment, and exercise equipment to personal protective equipment, to combat and help people adjust to life with COVID-19.

This ramp-up and production push required great patience and effort to manage workplace safety guidelines that have stretched from the obscure to the sublime. I have been impressed by our industry’s leadership in their ability to adapt and manage through such a dynamic time.

I once heard an interview with Bobby Knight, the former head coach of the Indiana University basketball team, in which he said the best coaching job he ever did was with a team that finished with a 0.500 winning percentage. He stressed that during that season he was challenged to consider new ideas and approaches for the team to maximize its potential. I believe the spirit of what he said applies to the leaders across the metal fabrication industry as they worked hard to maximize last year’s operational performance in the face of so many headwinds. Add in the latest version of the “most important election of our lifetime,” various congressional investigations, a summer filled with violent protests across the country, and nightly headlines about some other terrible events, and it can take a toll on our ability to think clearly and respond with the appropriate energy. I tip my hat to the industry as so many of you were able to stay the course and keep serving customers.

In 2020 FMA turned 50. We had many things planned, culminating with a big celebration at FABTECH in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, like so many other in-person event organizers did, we chose to cancel not only FABTECH, but also FABTECH Canada, FABTECH Mexico, and most of our in-person educational events out of concern for the health and safety of all of our stakeholders. As quickly as we could, we pivoted to providing information on all things COVID-19-related, offering virtual programming on topics such as the Paycheck Protection Program and pandemic safety protocols. Our editors doubled their efforts to provide pandemic-related features and blogs found on thefabricator.com. We provided free access to all our digital magazine editions, and we even kept mailing the industry’s best content to subscribers. (That’s right. I said mailing. Our publications, including The FABRICATOR, are still reaching metal fabricating decision-makers when many companies aren’t allowing any visitors through the front door.)

Undoubtedly, 2020 was tough for us financially, but so was the Great Recession and the double-digit inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. FMA survived those rough times, and like you, we will make it through this challenging time too. We remained focused on our mission: advocating for the growth and sustainability of the North American metal forming and fabricating industries. How we do it will evolve, just like how job shops continue to evolve in the way they produce parts and serve customers.

Before the pandemic, the metal fabrication industry was thriving. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the 10 years since the Great Recession, fabricated metal products manufacturing (NAICS 332) employment had grown from 1,259,100 in January 2010 to a high of 1,483,900 in February 2020. April 2020 was the beginning of a tough stretch of job losses, but by this past November, the industry was recovering and back to 1,399,200 people employed at 58,549 private industry establishments. According to Dunn & Bradstreet, our industry generates $343 billion in annual revenue. It’s a great story, indeed.

It’s important to check the rear-view mirror as we drive, but more important to look ahead through the windshield. Like many of you, we share in the optimism of what COVID-19 vaccines mean for society, workplaces, and our industry. We look forward to re-engaging in 2021, both virtually and face-to-face, with our members, educational program participants, and industry professionals as we help you reinforce, refresh, or expand needed skills and thinking related to the metal fabrication industry. We also continue to promote metal fabricating and manufacturing career paths to students through camps and scholarship programs that help to develop some of the industry’s brightest minds. This year we intend to support up to 40 students with Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs scholarships, and over the summer we will be supporting 139 summer manufacturing camps in 26 states.

We continue to hear how difficult it is to attract talent to our industry, and to help our member companies with this concern, we will be introducing a new marketing toolkit designed to help you with employee recruitment. Dr. Chris Kuehl will continue to provide his analysis of the broader economy and its meaning to the metal fabrication industry in the monthly member Fabrinomics e-newsletter. We are working hard to ensure we have all the best procedures and protocols in place for when the industry comes together again in September at FABTECH in Chicago. I’m also looking forward to getting back on the road to visit with members and job shop owners to see what’s happening on shop floors across the country and to learn about the immediate issues impeding the growth of their companies and the industry.

Finally, I want to wish the entire metal fabrication industry great success and good health in the new year. It certainly deserves both.